Stock market's Friday morning price action critical

Price action and setup analysis

If a fresh high had been probed Thursday afternoon… then it would have been reversed before the close. Greeting Friday at the highs does make reversing down a little less likely — at least, if not reversing down by noon.

That was an interesting spot to suddenly become paralyzed — not at a fresh high, and not just under a prior high, but right AT prior highs. Thursday’s 1594.25 highs had been the peak to Tuesday’s late surge into the close. It was exceeded only momentarily Wednesday morning, and only by 1 point.

Surely, Wednesday’s session-long decline wasn’t recovered all the way back up to prior highs, just to attack those prior highs without actually probing fresh highs. At least, that’s often the case. It is not always the case that fresh highs are probed without first dipping, regardless of how narrowly three consecutive timing windows have ranged.

What’s Next… (Outlook and opportunities)

Fresh highs are not required, just probable. Fresh highs will also probably be reversed down hard — unless the open were to remain above prior highs. At that point on Fridays, countertrend sponsorship usually becomes marginalized for the day. The best chances for trending down into the weekend are either to quickly reject a probe of fresh highs, or else to gap down strongly.

Look for at least one update overnight or ahead of the Morning Market Tour… My thoughts on the day’s econ calendar are linked here.

About the Author

Rod David develops analytical techniques that are designed to efficiently identify targets and turning points for any liquid stock or market in any time frame. He primarily analyzes S&Ps, generating several round-turn candidates daily. Rod publishes "Trading Plan" and more each session at the blog http://IfThenSignals.com.